Reflections
by PattiL61
Summary: Sequel to A Day At The Stadium - CHAPTER 7 UP - I know I said Chapter 6 was the conclusion. Sorry. I couldn't just leave him in the ICU, could I?!
1. Default Chapter

Reflections -Chapter 1  
  
It had been a quiet afternoon so far, but it was only an hour and a half into their shift. It was another beautiful day in New York City, with a blue, cloudless sky and a light breeze to keep the 78-degree day pleasant.  
  
"Why can't summer be like this all year round," said Faith, taking a deep breath through the open window of their cruiser, feeling the sun on her face.  
  
"Because then everyone would be happy, there'd be no fights and we'd be out of a job or bored all the time, like right now," he said back to her, swerving around a driver that had pulled away from the curb without looking for oncoming traffic. "Moron," he grumbled under his breath, displaying a false smile to the driver who was sheepishly waving his apologies at his error.  
  
"Well, somebody certainly woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," said Faith, looking at her partner and noticing the tired look in his eyes. "Want me to drive today?" she offered.  
  
"You have to have SLEPT in order to wake up on the wrong side of the bed," he replied. "And no, I don't want you to drive."  
  
"What, you couldn't sleep again last night?" she asked, thinking that he had been looking tired for the last couple of nights. He shrugged, "Yeah, but it'll pass." "It always does," he thought to himself, realizing that he had been restless ever since that night after the ballgame when he took Faith home because she was tipsy.   
  
"So, you're looking better lately," he tried to change the subject. "Sleeping better now that you have a bed to sleep on?"  
  
"Yeah, I am. And you were right, Bos, now that the apartment is put together and the kids have been over a few times, it is starting to feel like home. And, there's a couple of kids down the hall that are the same age and we've been to the park at the end of the street a couple times," she said, brightly.  
  
"Great. So, have the kids said any more to you about you and Fred splittin' up?" he asked, knowing that they were pretty hard on Faith when she had made the decision and first talked to them about it.  
  
"You know, we've had a couple of really good talks. Not all together, but I think they needed to let me know how they were feeling without having to worry about upsetting each other. Emily is still a little pissed at me, but Charlie seems to be doing better with it. They like that Fred and I aren't fighting all the time," she smiled.  
  
"Well, Charlie always was pretty easy going. He got that from you," Bosco said, looking over at Faith. "I mean look at what you put up with from me?"  
  
"Yeah, well, you're not as bad as people think," she started only to be interrupted by Bosco.  
  
"Whatta you mean, not as bad as people think?! People have a problem with me? What people?!" he said defensively.  
  
"Relax Bosco. I just mean that people don't know you as well as I do. I know what makes you tick and I know what ticks you off," Faith explained. "Boy, you really do need to get some sleep. Wanna talk about it?"  
  
"Nah, I've just been really restless for the past couple nights," he downplayed to Faith.  
  
"Maybe you should try some of that nighttime pain reliever stuff. Works for me," she suggested.  
  
He nodded and was about to answer when the dispatcher came over the radio.   
"55-David, take a call for a woman in distress at 755 West 55th, Apartment 7C."  
  
"10-4, Central. 755 West 55, Apartment 7C," confirmed Faith as Bosco leaned over and flipped on the lights and siren.  
  
They arrived at the location quickly and were greeted as they got out of the RMP by an elderly woman wringing her hands nervously. "Please Officers, my daughter, she's very upset. She won't let me in and I'm afraid of what she might do."  
  
"Slow down ma'am. What's your daughter upset about?" asked Faith. "She and her boyfriend have been having trouble. Please try to talk to her," pleaded the woman.  
  
"Ah, man. I hate these calls," said Bosco under his breath as they turned to head into the building. "Does she have any weapons in there? Do you think she'd hurt herself?" asked Bosco, trying to get more information before they went to the door.  
  
"Oh!" exclaimed the woman, crossing herself. "Do you think she might do something?"  
  
"No, no, ma'am," explained Faith, trying to calm the woman. "We just need to know what we are dealing with so we can help your daughter. What's her name?" Faith looked over and gave Bosco a look that said, "Could you upset her any more?"  
  
"What?" mouthed Bosco, oblivious to what he had done wrong.  
  
"Her name is Maddie, short for Madeline," answered the woman.  
  
"Okay, you wait right back here and we'll see what we can find out," said Bosco to the distraught woman.  
  
They reached the apartment and knocked on the door. Faith said, "Maddie? My name is Faith and I'm a police officer. Could you open the door?"  
  
"Police? What are you doing here?" asked the woman through the door. "Well, Maddie, your Mom is a little worried about you. She said that you wouldn't let her in and we just want to make sure you're okay," said Faith in a calm voice.  
  
"I AM okay. I TOLD her I was okay. Who's 'we'?" she asked cautiously, sounding closer to the door. "I'm here with my partner, Officer Boscorelli. Could you just open the door? It's easier than talking through the door and that way we can see that you're alright, Maddie," she tried to convince her.  
  
"Okay," she answered after a moment, turning the deadbolt on the door. "But don't let her in," she whispered through the door. "She's making me crazy."  
  
Bosco stifled a chuckle as Faith poked him in the ribs. "No problem Maddie. She's down the hall. It's just me and my partner," explained Faith.  
  
The door opened slowly and both Bosco and Faith simultaneously took in the darkened room and automatically looked to see that her hands weren't hiding anything behind her back.  
  
"Hey Maddie," said Faith, smiling. "Can we come in for a minute?"  
  
"Yeah, sorry for the mess. I just haven't felt like doing much lately. I haven't been sleeping too well," she explained nervously.  
  
"I hear that," Bosco said walking over to the curtained windows. "I've been having that same problem. Is it okay if I just open these curtains and let some light in? It's a beautiful day," he said sliding the curtains open to let the sun in while looking around to see if the daylight revealed any hazardous items located within the apartment.  
  
The apartment was disheveled, but not what you would call dirty. There were a few dirty dishes in the sink and some dirty laundry in a basket by the door. Faith was trying to talk to the woman while Bosco finished looking around the apartment to make sure everything was okay. He came back into the living room to hear the woman saying, "There isn't a boyfriend. Just a friend that I have realized that I have real feelings for. I don't know if he feels the same. You see, we're really close and I don't want to ruin that by saying something stupid if he doesn't feel the same way. So, I haven't been sleeping well. I had some time saved up at work and thought I'd just take a couple days off to kind of catch up on sleep and stuff. Well, she called me at work and was told I had taken sick time. My mother, she means well. It's just that she's just, I don't know...." she said, clearly embarrassed. "I'm sorry she dragged you over here for nothing."  
  
"It's no problem. That's what we're here for. It's just that your Mom said you wouldn't let her in," started Faith, before she heard the woman coming down the hallway toward the apartment. Maddie looked surprised. "What? Of course I would have let her in. She must have knocked when I was upstairs on the roof. Some of the tenants made a nice little patio up there and I was sitting up there having some tea and getting some sun," she explained.  
  
"Maddie, honey, are you all right?" she was calling down the hall. Faith and Bosco could see that the young woman was getting upset and more embarrassed. "I'll go talk to your Mom and let her know you're okay and just need some time to yourself," Faith offered, obvious relief coming over the woman's face. "Thank you Officer," she said as Faith headed out into the hallway.  
  
That left Maddie and Bosco alone in the apartment. She looked up at him from under her bangs and caught him looking at her. She blushed and said, "I suppose you think I'm a real nutcase."  
  
"No, not at all. So, have you known this guy for a while?" he asked, trying to pass the time until Faith got back.  
  
"Mitch. His name is Mitch. I've known him for about 7 or 8 years. We work together. He's a pretty complicated character. Not understood by a lot of people we work with. They think he's hard, unsympathetic, and a glory hound," she lit up just talking about him.  
  
Bosco said, "Yeah? Well, have you told him how you feel about him? Maybe that would help. Who knows, maybe he feels the same way."  
  
"I've thought about talking to him about it, but what if he doesn't feel the same way. I wouldn't want to ruin a really great friendship. He's been through so much...." she trailed off.  
  
"What do you mean 'through so much'?" asked Bosco. Maddie went on to explain about Mitch's tough times growing up, he came from an abusive family, always trying to take the hit to protect his mother. Bosco walked over and sat down across from Maddie. She went on to tell him that he had opened up a little to her while they were working on a project together for work. They were working late one night and he had seemed really -"lost" - for want for a better word. She had asked him if he was all right and she must have caught him off guard because he had told her some things. "It just made me want to get closer to him, show him what life could and should be like," she finished.  
  
Faith had finished talking with the woman's mother and was heading back to the apartment. She heard Bosco and Maddie talking and pulled up short just outside the door. She had heard all of it and realized that Maddie was describing Bosco. "I wonder if he realizes himself in this story," Faith thought to herself. She felt a tightening in her stomach, seeing herself in Maddie. Listening to the woman had made her realize that her restlessness these last couple of years in her marriage and particularly since she and Fred had split up were because of her feelings for Bosco. She swallowed hard, thinking how complicated this could make things. "Should I talk to Bosco about this? What if he didn't feel the same way? How would it affect our friendship - our partnership?" she was thinking to herself when she was brought back to the present by the sound of Bosco's voice.  
  
"Well, you know if I didn't know better, I'd swear that you were describing me," he said quietly to Maddie. "I grew up in a family that put the word 'dysfunctional' in the dictionary. My Dad used to beat up on my Ma all the time. I'd try to jump in and protect her and my younger brother - tried to be the man in the family. All I ended up getting for my troubles were black eyes and broken ribs. My Ma never left him, she said she loved him," he said, realizing that he had revealed too much of himself to this woman he hardly knew.  
  
He stood up and said, "Anyway, I have a friend that I would trust my life with. And, she has been going through some things in her life too. I've been very restless the last few weeks, thinking about my feelings for her - trying to sort through what they mean and if she would feel the same way - not wanting to ruin a good partnership - I mean friendship. So you see, you should talk to him. If your friendship is as strong as you say, then you two should be able to talk about this stuff and sort it out. Who knows, he probably feels the same way about you, right?"  
  
Faith couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Could it be? Does he have the same feelings for me or is he just saying that to help this girl?"  
  
She was brought back from her thoughts again when she heard Bosco saying, "Alright. So you'll talk to this Mitch guy and get everything straightened out. And, if things don't work out, you still have a great friend that will always be there for you right?"  
  
"You're right and thanks again for coming out. I'm really sorry that my mother over-reacted. I hope I didn't take you away from someone who really needed you," she said as they both walked to the door.  
  
"Nah, it's been a really slow day. I'll just check on where my partner is and...." He was cut off as Faith walked around the door and right into Bosco. "Hey, there you are. I think Maddie here is gonna be fine. We had a nice talk and I really think she's okay," he said to Faith, somewhat flustered.  
  
"Great! I talked to your Mom, Maddie and she agrees to let you have some space and work this out on your own," Faith said looking at Maddie with a certain flushed appearance to her face.  
  
"Thanks again and I'm sorry to have bothered you," said Maddie, shaking the Officers' hands.  
  
"Really, it was no bother. I hope we helped," said Faith as they both turned to leave.  
  
They climbed into their respective sides of the RMP and drove off, each not making eye contact or conversation with the other.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Well, I hope you enjoy this story. I know it's kind of , well, blah. I hope it will get better. Let me know what you think. 


	2. Chapter 2

Reflections - Chapter 2  
  
Faith and Bosco continued on their patrol, which was turning out to be pretty uneventful, with light chit chat. At about 6:30 they decided to take their dinner break.  
  
"55-David to Central, are we clear for 10-63?" asked Bosco into the microphone.  
  
"10-4, 55-David, you're clear," came the reply.  
  
"So where do you wanna eat tonight?" Bosco asked Faith.  
  
"Oh, it's so nice, how about we get some burgers to go and head over to the park?" suggested Faith. Bosco nodded and headed over to their favorite burger place.  
  
A few minutes later they had pulled into the park and were sitting on the hood of the RMP, overlooking the river and enjoying the night air. It was Faith's turn to do the reports and she was working on the paperwork from their earlier call with Maddie. She couldn't get that whole thing out of her mind. Bosco still didn't know that she had overheard his whole conversation with Maddie and she wasn't quite sure how to bring the subject up.  
  
She looked up from the clipboard and over at Bosco who had wandered over to throw away the garbage and walked over to the edge of the river, looking up and down the riverbank while he finished his coffee. She couldn't pull her eyes away from him. He looked so good silhouetted by the setting sun. He had obviously gone back to working out again and he was doing something a little different with his hair although she couldn't quite figure out what it was. Or maybe she was just noticing him differently now - more than just someone she worked with. She shook her head and looked back down and continued with her paperwork.  
  
At the same moment, Bosco turned slightly and looked over his shoulder back at Faith. Her hair looked a little lighter, he thought to himself. He smiled slightly at the wrinkle of her nose she always got when she was concentrating on the paperwork. He knew when he saw that wrinkle, he could start talking to her and she wouldn't even hear him. He noticed that she looked a lot better the last week or so, more at ease with what was going on with her kids and Fred. He'd heard that one of the guys on another shift had seen Fred out at some bar and he was with some other woman. He didn't know if Faith knew, but he wasn't sure he wanted to tell her either. He didn't know how she would take it. He had noticed that he was thinking about her more often over the last few months. Just for fun he said, "So, I decided just to let that guy in the water keep drowning."  
  
"Huh? Yeah okay, sounds good," Faith responded, continuing the report and not really listening to what he was saying. He chucked and walked up to her, throwing a handful of leaves he had pulled off a nearby tree at her. "So, you wanna start the paperwork on that one too?"  
  
She got an annoyed look on her face as she brushed the leaves off her clipboard and out of her hair and looked up at him, "What? Paperwork on what?"  
  
He told her what he had just said and they both laughed. "Yeah, well, you know I don't like redoing the paperwork so I like to get it right the first time," she said as she stood up and stretched. She took a walk over to the riverbank, looked around and turned back to see Bosco looking at her. "What?"  
  
"Nothing," he said. "Better call back in service or Sully and Davis will think we're shirking our duties again," he commented as he headed back around to the driver's side of the car.  
  
"Yeah, I guess," she said as she walked back over to the car and got in thinking, "At least his mood improved a little."  
  
They finished their shift up at 11:00 with only three minor calls for the rest of the night; a minor domestic dispute that had pretty much settled itself before they arrived and a couple of "fender bender" accidents that only required the drivers to exchange information because there wasn't enough damage to require an accident report.  
  
Bosco had gotten even quieter as the shift was drawing to an end. He just wasn't looking forward to going back home to an empty apartment again. He was resenting it more and more. "Maybe I need to get a pet," he thought to himself on more than one occasion. "Right Boscorelli. You can't even remember to feed yourself. What makes you think a pet will survive a week with you," he berated himself.  
  
Bosco and Faith had just finished changing back into their street clothes as some guys from the next shift were finishing up changing into their uniforms to go to work. "You wanna lift home?" asked Bosco.  
  
"You know, I think I want to walk. It's really still a beautiful night. But thanks," said Faith with a smile. "No problem. You want me to walk you?"  
  
"Nah, I got my off-duty gun so I should be fine, big-guy," Faith joked, playfully punching him in the arm. "Have a good night, Bos. I'll see you tomorrow," she said as she headed out. "Yeah Faith, have a good one," he answered back.  
  
The door to the locker room closed and Faith paused outside thinking about whether she should take the advice Bosco had handed out to Maddie earlier and talk to him about her feelings. She decided that if he had the same feelings wouldn't he have followed his own advice and talked to her about it? She shrugged and continued out the front door. "Have a good night Lieu," she said as she passed the front desk. "Yeah, you take it easy Yokas. Good shift," Lieutenant Swersky responded back.  
  
Bosco walked out of the precinct and headed toward his car. He saw Carlos heading out of the firehouse across the street. "Hey Nieto!" he called out and headed across the street to where Carlos had stopped and turned in the direction of Bosco's voice. "What did I do wrong this time?" came Carlos' reply.  
  
"Nothing! Are you getting off or just starting?" Bosco asked him.   
  
"I'm outta here til Thursday. I took an extra day off to go see Kylie," Carlos told him.  
  
"Wanna head over for a drink?" Bosco asked him, not wanting to go home. "Sure, sounds good to me? Anyone else coming?" asked Carlos.  
  
"Not unless you invite someone. Faith already took off," Bosco answered. With that, they both headed over to their favorite hangout.  
  
After a few hours, they were both trashed and the bartender didn't want them driving home. He thought to himself that it was a good thing they were sitting next to each other at the end of the bar, because they were both holding each other from falling off the stools. They tried to order another drink but he told them no. "C'mon Nick," said Bosco. "What's up with that?"   
  
"Bosco, you don't wanna crash up that beautiful car you have, do you?" Nick asked as he casually swiped Bosco's car keys off the bar and put them in his apron pocket without him realizing it.  
  
"Ah c'mon Nick, Just one more," pleaded Bosco and Carlos simultaneously.  
  
Realizing that one more drink was not going to make any difference, Nick drew each of them a half a draft and set it down in front of them, laughing to himself when they didn't even realize they didn't get a full drink. He just wanted to figure out what he should do about Bosco.  
  
God knew there were plenty of times that he had had to call Bosco's partner down to drag his sorry butt out when he was too trashed to make it home on his own, even if Nick had called a cab for him. But, he hadn't really seen him take more than one or two drinks since shortly after 9/11. He figured something heavy must have gone down at work to upset him this much, so Yokas would probably know what do to. He remembered hearing that she had moved and he didn't have her new number on the "Saviors" list he had compiled over the years. He reached over and took Bosco's cell phone off the bar and meandered to the other end of the bar, scrolling through the stored numbers until he reached Faith's. He dialed the number and waited for Faith to pick up.  
  
Faith was awakened by the ringing of the phone. She reached over to grab the phone and look at the clock at the same time. Realizing that it was 4:00 on the morning, she felt a little panic rise as she assumed that one of the kids had taken sick. "Hello?" she said quickly into the phone, flipping on the bedside light.  
  
"Officer Yokas, this is Nick down at Murphy's. Sorry to call you so late, but I have someone here that I think could probably use some assistance," he explained.  
  
"What's going on Nick? Has he said anything?" Faith asked, immediately knowing that he must be referring to Bosco. She didn't understand, Bosco had been doing so well lately since he had been seeing the doctor. What could have set him off?  
  
"No, he's here with one of the medics - the obnoxious one - and they're both wasted, but I think I can get the other one home in a cab. Bosco's worse. I don't want to send him in a cab even. Do you think you can come and get him?" asked Nick.  
  
"Sure, Nick. I'll be there in a few. Just try to keep him there," Faith said, hanging up and grabbing her clothes from the chair where she left them when she came home.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC...  
  
Well, hope you liked this chapter. More to come... 


	3. Chapter 3

Reflections - Chapter 3  
  
Faith looked at her watch as the cab pulled up outside the bar behind Bosco's mustang. She paid the cab driver and got out, looking through the window of the almost dark bar. The bar had closed about an hour ago and the only people she could see inside were Nick, who was cleaning up behind the bar, and Bosco, who appeared to be looking for something on the floor. Faith opened the door quietly and nodded to Nick who was saying, "Did you find them yet, Bosco? I looked back here again and I don't see your car keys anywhere." Nick held the keys up so that Faith could see that this was Nick's way of keeping Bosco there until she got there.  
  
"Dammit, Nick! You better not have thrown them away when you cleaned off the bar - OW!" he yelled as he hit his head on a table trying to stand up and falling back down again instead.  
  
"Are you okay, Bos?" asked Nick. "No I'm not okay! If you give me another drink then maybe that might be a start," Bosco slurred, rubbing the back of his head. He made another attempt at getting up, but ended up landing on the floor on his butt. He just leaned against the wall and looked up, finally noticing that Faith was standing there in front of him. "I'm hallucinating," he thought to himself.  
  
"Bos, what are you doing?" Faith asked him, holding out a hand to help him up.  
  
"Faith? Is that really you?" Bosco asked, not sure whether to believe his eyes or not.  
  
"Yeah, Bos. I brought your keys. C'mon. I'll drive you home," she said, bending down to help him up.  
  
"You should have called me sooner, Nick," Faith scolded as she saw just how intoxicated he was. "Where's Carlos?" she continued.  
  
Nick held up both hands and said, "Faith, they came in pretty much this way. They must have gotten kicked out of some other bar before they came here. I sent the medic home in a cab. He wasn't this bad," Nick said motioning to Bosco. "Something happen at work today? He hasn't done this in a long time."  
  
"No it was a quiet day, but something's been bothering him for a few days. Well, thanks for calling me. I'll get him out of your hair for the night," she said as she tried to coax Bosco into coming with her.  
  
With the first step he tried to take, Bosco fell to the floor, taking Faith down with him. Nick came around the bar and helped Faith get him out to his car. "Are you gonna be alright with him? How are you gonna get him inside when you get him home?"  
  
"I'll worry about that when I get there, I guess," Faith said as they poured Bosco into his car. Just as she closed the door, thanked Nick and headed around to the driver's side, an RMP pulled up alongside the car. It was Davis and Sully. Turns out they were working an overtime shift for Miller, who was at the hospital waiting to become a new Daddy.  
  
"Faith, what the hell are you doing out here at this hour?" said Sully as Davis rolled down his window, noticing Bosco's car.  
  
"Well, apparently Bosco and Carlos went on a bender together and Nick didn't think that Bosco could even make it home if he called him a cab. He's in pretty bad shape," she said as she looked through the window and noticed that he was out cold.  
  
"You guys think you can follow me over to his place and help me get him inside?" she asked.  
  
"You think he should to go to the hospital, Faith?" asked Davis as he looked through the window and saw his condition.  
  
"I don't think so. I was talking to him just a minute ago and he was pretty much making sense. I'm not gonna leave him alone though. I'll stay on the couch to make sure he's okay," she explained.  
  
"Okay," Sully said. "Let's go before they give us a call."  
  
Faith parked Bosco's car outside of his building and waited for Sully and Davis to catch up with her. She opened the passenger door and the cool night air woke him up a little.  
  
"Wha. What the hell's going on? Nick, did you find my keys?" he said, trying to sit up.  
  
"Bosco, it's Faith. I have your keys and I drove you home. Do you think you can walk enough to get inside?" she said, leaning over to help him get out of the car.  
  
"Faith? How'd you know I needed you?" he said as he pulled her to him and gave her a hug.  
  
"Nick called me. He was pretty worried about you. So am I," she said, hugging him back and pulling him out of the car at the same time just as Sully and Davis pulled up.  
  
"You're worried about me?" has asked. "Thanks Faith, but I'm worried about you. I love you, you know Faith."  
  
"You love me Bosco?" Faith said, shocked. "Of course, you're my partner, Faith," he replied matter of factly before he started to pass out again.  
  
Sully and Davis came just in time to catch Bosco as he went out again. "C'mon guys, he's talking crazy. Let's get him upstairs," said Faith, wondering what that statement was all about. She couldn't help but remember what he had said to Maddie. Could he really have been referring to me when he was talking to her? She didn't want to get her hopes up. She wasn't even sure what her own feelings meant yet. She just knew she felt safe and appreciated when she was with him.  
  
Sully and Davis made it up the three flights of stairs and Faith used Bosco's keys to open the door. She reached around the doorframe and flipped the lightswitch to light the dark apartment. "Where do you want him?" asked Davis, out of breath.  
  
"Might as well bring him back to his bedroom. I think it's at the end of the hall," she instructed as she turned on another light, noticing the plant on the table that was near death.  
  
Sully and Davis finished depositing their friend on his bed and came back out to the living room. "Anything?" asked Faith, wondering if he had woken up at all.  
  
"He's out cold Faith. We put him on his side in case - well - you know," Sully said. "Are you sure you want to deal with the hangover he's gonna have tomorrow?"  
  
"Yeah, well I hadn't thought about that. But, what am I gonna do. He shouldn't really be left alone. I'll tell ya', when I get my hands on Nieto, I'm gonna kill him for letting Bosco get this bad," said Faith angrily.  
  
"Yeah, well, do you really think Carlos has the common sense that God gave a flea?" asked Davis sarcastically.  
  
Faith and Sully chuckled and Faith said, "Yeah, well make sure you give him a kick in the pants for me when you get home tonight Ty."  
  
"Yes ma'am," Davis saluted as he and Sully left and closed the door behind them.  
  
Faith put the deadbolt on and turned to look around the apartment momentarily and then headed down the hall to make sure Bosco was okay for the time being.  
  
She walked into his room and turned on the bedside light. He looked so peaceful she just looked at him for a while. The frown he had been wearing for the last couple of days was absent. "Well, let's get you situated," she said to herself as she went down to the end of the bed to remove his shoes. She dropped them on the floor, noticing that the thud they made didn't disturb him in the least. She managed to get the covers out from underneath him and took off his jeans, leaving him in only his t-shirt and boxers. Faith looked at him, noticing the fitness of his body and then felt guilty for staring at him - even though she saw him in his boxers every day at work while they were changing and it never phased her before. She quickly pulled the covers up on him. She leaned over and felt his forehead and cheek - an automatic response from a mother when tucking someone in to bed. She turned out the light and walked back up the hallway after checking to make sure that there was a clear shot between Bosco and the toilet in case he needed it.  
  
She walked out through the living room and into the kitchen. She filled a glass with water for the dying plant in the living room and suddenly remembered the advice Bosco had given her the night after the ball game. She refilled the glass and took the aspirin out of the cabinet and placed it on the table beside the bed for him.  
  
She again looked down at him, his room dimly lit by the hallway light. "Do you really love me, Bosco?" she asked quietly as she leaned forward and kissed his forehead.  
  
Bosco stirred momentarily, mumbling something, and was out again. Faith walked back to the living room and grabbed a blanket and pillow out of the linen closet and lay down on the couch, falling asleep and immediately dreaming of Bosco. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well? TBC. 


	4. Chapter 4

Reflections - Chapter 4  
  
Faith was in the middle of a wonderful dream. She was out for a nice night of dinner and dancing with a mysterious person. She couldn't make out who it was although there was some familiarity about the man. She was trying so hard in her dream to see his face, but every time she was just about to, she would lose it. Whoever the man was, Faith felt so at ease and relaxed. They had a wonderful dinner and were now dancing slowly, very close to each other. Faith could hear nothing but the music and felt nothing but the warmth from her companion's body tight against her as they swayed with the music. She could see or hear no one else around her. She felt his hand slowly caress her back, up and down along her spine to the very base of her back and stop there, his breath on her neck. That smell - she knew that cologne. The song ended and the two parted. Faith was just about to look into the eyes of the man that made her feel so safe...  
  
She was awakened by a loud crash and she sat bolt upright. She immediately thought that one of the kids had fallen out of bed or something and jumped up to see that they were okay. She smashed her shin on the coffee table and thought, "Who the hell moved the furniture around?!" when she suddenly remembered where she was. She gathered her bearings, mentally thinking of the layout of Bosco's apartment in the dark and headed back toward his room. She heard some swearing and incoherent mumbling and felt for and flipped on the hallway light and saw him sprawled on the floor along side the bed, the glass of water broken alongside him.   
  
"Bosco! Are you okay?" she said as she reached him.  
  
"Faith? What the hell...?" he asked as he tried to sit up, cutting his arm on the broken glass before she could move it out of the way. "Shit!" he said, not really understanding where he was or how he had gotten there. The last thing he remembered was being at the bar and fighting with Nick about his keys. He still had a lot of alcohol in his system and as he moved he was hit by a sudden wave of nausea. "Oh God!" he said as he started to look around for a bathroom, still not knowing he was in his own apartment.   
  
Faith saw the look on his pale face as he broke out in a sweat and started looking around in a panic. "This way!" she yelled. "You're at your place!" she said as she tried to help him up, grabbing the waste can alongside his dresser in case he didn't make it.   
  
He clawed his way across the room and almost made it to the toilet, throwing up in the shower instead. "Oh well, that's better than the floor and walls," thought Faith as she positioned him in front of the toilet and grabbed a towel returning the bedroom to clean up the water and broken glass. She flipped on the light and saw that Bosco had apparently gotten tangled up in the bed covers because they were pulled to the floor with him. They too were wet. She went back to the closet and pulled out another set of sheets, looking over her shoulder to see Bosco heaving again. "Oh, this is fun," she said out loud sarcastically as she returned to the bedroom. A loud moan escaped from Bosco between retches.  
  
A little while later, Faith had restored order to Bosco's bedroom and was cleaning and bandaging his arm as he sat on the side of the tub. "I think you're gonna need a couple of stitches here, Bos," she said, moving her eyes to his face. "Nah, it'll be alright," he mumbled very quietly, the pain showing on his face from the beginnings of his hangover. "I don't think so, it's pretty deep and ragged, you might have gotten a tendon or something," she warned him.  
  
"I can't even move right now," he said, rubbing his right side. "Can you turn off some of the lights?"  
  
"Not if you want me to bandage the right spot," she said back to him. "So, are you gonna tell me what brought this on?" she asked him casually.  
  
"Brought what on?" asked Bosco. "I just went out for a few drinks with Nieto," he said defensively.  
  
"This is not a few drinks, Bosco. It's been about five hours since your last drink and you're still stinking drunk! Do you even remember last night? Where were you guys before Nick's?" she chastised him.  
  
"Of course I do. I was, uh, I don't remember," he answered, not looking at her. "I need to lay down," he said, suddenly looking paler. "Why don't you take some aspirin and water before you lay down again," she suggested to him. He nodded and filled the bathroom glass with water and opened the bottle of aspirin Faith had brought in with her from the bedroom. But, as soon as he had swallowed the pills and taken a drink, the cycle of getting sick began all over again.  
  
He had been in the bathroom for just over an hour of non-stop retching, even though there was nothing left in him. His arm was still bleeding and each time Faith had gone back to check on him all she heard between retches was, "Never again, not ever," and "Oh God, help." She chuckled - men were such babies when they were sick. But, she WAS getting worried about him getting dehydrated. She had seen Fred this drunk before but he had never gotten sick for so long.  
  
"Hey Bos," she called out as she went back into the bathroom. "Why don't we take a ride over to Mercy? You can get stitched up and maybe they can give you something for your stomach," she suggested, thinking they would probably give him an IV to re-hydrate him.  
  
"Nah, I'll be okay. Why don't you take off, you don't need to stay anymore," he said standing up very slowly, rubbing his right side again. "It's okay," she answered. "I don't have the kids until Saturday afternoon and I still don't like the way you look," she said as she noticed him reach for the towel rack and start to pass out again. She reached him and caught him before he fell and was able to get him back to his bed before he totally blacked out. "Okay, this isn't right," she finally said to herself, feeling his forehead and noticing that he now had a pretty high fever.  
  
Because she was unable to bring him around and his fever seemed to get worse over such a short period of time, she decided to dial 9-1-1 and call for an ambulance to take him to the hospital. This was more than just being intoxicated, he was really sick.  
  
About 10 minutes later there was a knock on Bosco's door and Faith quickly opened it to see Doc and Kim there, along with Officers Donovan and Schmidt from the day shift who were sent to the call along with the medics, partly because it was procedure, but mostly because it was a fellow officer that needed help. Faith spoke with the officers and they returned to service after finding out they weren't needed. They agreed to talk to the Lieutenant and let him know that Bosco definitely would not be in to work this afternoon and that Faith probably would be taking a personal day. Faith said she would call the Lieutenant later on and let him know what was going on.  
  
"Hey Faith," said Kim. "What's up?" They followed Faith down the hall as she explained what was going on.  
  
"Well, I thought he was just hung over. I had to pick him up at O'Brien's last night - rather this morning - and he was really bad. Nick called me to come get him. I've never seen him this bad. Anyway, he's been throwing up non-stop for the past 2 or 3 hours and now he has a fever. He passed out, but right before that he kind of grabbed his side," she said worriedly.   
  
"Okay, let's check him out," Doc said, noticing the bloody bandage on his arm. "What's this?" he asked as he started to assess Bosco's condition. "Oh, uh, he fell trying to get to the bathroom and knocked a glass over and landed on it," she said.  
  
Kim was checking is blood pressure and pulse and had put an oxygen mask on Bosco. The oxygen seemed to revive him a little and he groaned and flinched as Doc was checking for any tenderness or guarding of his abdomen. He was still very sweaty and Doc told Kim that his fever felt pretty high. They started a precautionary IV and got him "packaged" on the stretcher and were ready to move out.  
  
"What do you think, Doc? Is it alcohol poisoning or something?" she asked with concern.  
  
"I don't think so, Faith. I think it may be his appendix. Except I think it ruptured already," said Doc. "We'll get him over to Mercy right away. You coming?"  
  
"Absolutely," she answered without hesitation, grabbing her purse and locking up on the way out.  
  
They arrived at the hospital a few minutes later and Doc and Kim wheeled Bosco into the Emergency Room with Faith following close behind. Because she was known in the ER as a cop and they knew that this was her partner, Nurse Proctor made sure Faith was allowed to go in with him. The doctors examined him and ordered bloodwork and an ultrasound of his abdomen. With the IV fluids and other medications being administered, Bosco seemed to be a little more aware of his surroundings.  
  
Faith heard him groan and looked over and noticed him beginning to wake up. "Hey," she said quietly as she stepped up to his side. "Just lay still, you're at Mercy," she told him.  
  
"Why?" he asked, in obvious discomfort. "Well, it looks like you have a ruptured appendix to go along with your hangover. You're a pretty sick puppy, so just lay back and relax. It looks like their talking surgery, but the doctor said he'd be right back," she explained. He reached over and took her hand and held it as the medication helped him drift off to sleep again. "Thanks Faith," he whispered before falling asleep. She squeezed his hand and ran her other hand through his hair, willing him to be okay. "I love you, Bosco," she confessed to him, tears of worry finally escaping. A few minutes later, the doctor came back with a couple of orderlies and told Faith that the tests showed that he did indeed have a ruptured appendix and they took him up to the Operating Room.  
  
Faith followed the stretcher back out into the hallway and was heading up to the OR waiting room when she heard someone call her name from behind and turned to see Sully walking over to her. "What's going on?" he asked as he took in the site of an unconscious Bosco on the stretcher.  
  
"Ruptured appendix. I guess I should have brought him in sooner, but I thought it was just from the alcohol, Sul," she said. Davis saw Sully talking to Faith as he returned from washing up after their last call and walked over.  
  
"Hey Faith, what's up?" he asked, noticing her serious expression. Sully answered, "Faith brought Bosco in with a ruptured appendix. Faith, how were you supposed to know. I would have thought it was his hangover too," he reassured her. "The important thing is that you got him here. If he was home alone, he'd probably still be there," he pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, I guess. But he's pretty sick 'cause it ruptured and the poison is getting into his system. I'm gonna give the Lieutenant a call and head up to the waiting area. I guess I better call his Mom, too," she said.  
  
"Okay, well, we'll try to stop in later and see how he's doing, but call Davis' cell phone if you hear anything sooner," said Sully as they headed back to work.  
  
"Okay, guys. Be careful out there," said Faith as she pulled out her cell phone to call the Lieutenant and explain why she hadn't shown up for work on time.  
  
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Sorry, if this is a little boring but they are slowly realizing their feelings for each other and what they mean. I hope you are still enjoying this story. 


	5. Chapter 5

Reflections - Chapter 5  
  
It had been about two hours since Faith last got a glimpse of Bosco as they wheeled him down the hallway into the Recovery Room. She sat in the chairs of the waiting room, with her head resting back against the wall and her eyes closed. She couldn't help but keep blaming herself for not getting him here sooner. She thought back to what the doctor had told her before he had gone to start his surgery....  
  
"Officer Yokas," the doctor began. "Does your partner have any family here? I'd really like to discuss his case with them before I begin."  
  
Faith remembered sadly shaking her head and replying, "Just me, Doctor."  
  
"You're family?" he asked. "I thought you were his partner," he said, obviously confused.  
  
"I am his partner. I mean, I called his Mom, but she wasn't home so I left a message. You can tell me and I'll pass it on to her when and if she gets here. I'm as close to family as he has," Faith offered, hoping the doctor would fill her in.  
  
"Okay. First, let me tell you that he's pretty sick. Although the appendix really doesn't have a use, we still keep coming off the assembly line with it as standard equipment on all models. What happens is that the appendix fills with infection. If left untreated, the appendix eventually enlarges to the point where it bursts. The infection spills into the abdominal cavity, causing peritonitis, which is potentially life-threatening," he paused, waiting to see if Faith was comprehending all of what he was saying. She nodded her understanding and the doctor continued.  
  
"Did he complain of any pain or have any nausea, vomiting or decreased appetite?" the Doctor asked her, almost as an after thought.  
  
"Well, Doc. He went out with the guys last night and got pretty trashed. I got a call from the bartender asking me to come get him because he was afraid to send him home in a cab. He passed out until about 6:00 this morning when he started throwing up non-stop. I thought it was from the drinking, but he kept throwing up. Finally, he stood up, grabbed his side and passed out again. That's when I noticed the fever and decided it was more than just the alcohol," she said guiltily.  
  
"I see. Well, you couldn't really know he was sick if he was passed out, could you? Anyway, what we're going to do is make an incision and remove the remains of the burst appendix and flush out whatever toxins we can. Now, because his appendix apparently burst some time ago, he runs a higher risk of infection, or peritonitis. After surgery, he'll go to the Recovery Room until he wakes up a little. After that, he'll be in ICU so that we can watch him round the clock for any signs of infection or trouble," he finished.  
  
"Okay, Doctor. Thank you," she said as he shook her hand and started to leave. "Doctor?" she called to him. He turned back to Faith, sensing that she was more than just his partner. "Is he going to be okay? I really don't know what I'd do if I lost him," she said, a tear rolling down her cheek.  
  
"Officer Yokas," he said as he came back and squatted down in front of her. "I can't promise you that he's going to be fine, but he has a very good chance. He is young and strong, and from the looks of his past medical records, he's a fighter," the doctor smiled and Faith chuckled. "That he is, Doctor. That he is," she agreed.  
  
"It all depends on how well we can get him cleaned out and how well his body fights off the inevitable infection. But, I will do everything in my power to pull him through this," he finished, squeezing Faith's hand and standing to go begin the surgery. "I know you will," she answered as the door closed and he was gone.  
  
She was brought out of those memories by the ringing of her cell phone. "Hello?" she answered, glancing at her watch. It was 11:30 p.m. "Faith, it's Angela Boscorelli. What's Maurice gone and gotten himself into now?" she asked in an annoyed tone. "I told him that being a cop was a dumb thing to do," she continued before she was interrupted by Faith who could hear what sounded like a party in the background.  
  
"Look, Angela. This had nothing to do with Bosco being a cop. He had appendicitis and didn't realize it and his appendix burst. He's finished with the surgery and is in the Recovery Room right now and he's very sick," she said angrily. It had been almost eight hours since Faith had left messages on her answering machine and at the bar. "Now, I'm sure it would mean a lot to Bosco if you were here when he woke up, but if you're going to berate and belittle him and his life like you usually do, well - then maybe you should stay away," she finished.  
  
"Well, if he's in the Recovery Room then he won't know I'm there anyway," she said, somewhat put off by Faith's angry response. "Tell him I called and please call me when he wakes up and I'll come over," she said before she hung up abruptly.  
  
"What a piece of work," Faith said out loud to herself. "Who?" came a voice as Faith jumped in her seat. She looked up and saw Kim, Doc, Sully, Davis, and Alex who all had come over after their shift.  
  
"Oh, you know what, nothing," said Faith, relieved to see some companionship. "Thanks for coming over guys," she said as Alex handed her a cup of coffee and Kim handed her a sandwich. She smiled warmly and said, "Thanks you guys."  
  
"Well, we figured you hadn't left here so you probably didn't eat anything all day," said Alex. "Um, someone else is here, but he doesn't know if he should come in or not," continued Alex.  
  
"Who is it?" asked Faith, curiously. With that Carlos walked around the corner into the waiting area with a guilty look on his face. "Oh, you I'll deal with later," she said with that motherly "you're soooo grounded look.'  
  
"So, what's the word?" she asked.  
  
"Well, the appendix did burst. Apparently it was while he was out cold during the night," she said, glancing at Carlos before looking at Sully with a guilty look. He shook his head at her and made a face as if to say, "There's no way you could have known."  
  
"Anyway, they took him to surgery to remove what was left of it and to clean out what they could of the infection. He's in Recovery now and then they'll move him to ICU to watch him closely for a while. He's pretty sick and he has a little bit of rough road ahead of him, but he's a fighter so I think he's gonna be just fine," she said, trying to convince herself more than her friends.  
  
"Of course he will," said Kim with a hand on her shoulder. Just then, a nurse came out, looked around the group, and said, "Officer Yokas?"  
  
"Um, that's me," Faith said as she stood up. "Dr. Campbell said that I should let you in to see Mr. Boscorelli as soon as I could so if you want to come with me you can see him; but, only for a moment. We're going to move him up to ICU in a few minutes," she said.  
  
"Okay, great," she said looking at her friends. "We'll wait right here, Faith," Sully said. "Tell him we all say hi," Ty called after her.  
  
Faith walked into the Recovery Room behind the nurse who was telling her that Bosco was still sleeping pretty heavily and not to expect him to just open his eyes and strike up a conversation. Faith nodded and slowly stepped up to the bed as the nurse backed up a little to give her some privacy.  
  
"Hey Bos, you gave me a pretty good scare today," she said quietly, taking the hand without the IV in her's. His hand felt cool and she noticed that he was shivering slightly. She turned to the nurse and said, "He's shivering."  
  
"That's a normal body response after surgery, but it IS kind of cool in here. I'll go get him another blanket," she said, turning to get the blanket.  
  
Faith turned her attention back to Bosco and leaned closer to him. "Don't worry, the nurse is getting you another blanket, Bos. You really scared me. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you Bosco," she said as a tear ran down her cheek and landed on his. She thought she saw him flinch at the feel of the tear hitting his face. "Bosco? Can you hear me?" she asked him and was rewarded with a squeeze of her hand. Faith smiled and a few more tears fell. She wiped them off his cheek.   
  
The nurse came back with a warmed blanket and placed it over him and his shivering diminished. She took his vital signs and marked them in the bedside chart. She turned to Faith and said, "They're just about ready to move him upstairs and he really does need to get his rest."   
  
"Okay, I'll just tell him that I'll be outside. Thanks," Faith said and the nurse nodded and returned to her desk.  
  
Faith once again leaned close to Bosco and said, "There's a big group from the 55 outside waiting to see how you are so I'll let them know you're gonna be okay." She paused for a moment then continued, "Bosco, I meant what I said before when I said I loved you. I'm just sorry it took so long for me to say anything to you, but I promise I'll talk to you about it when you're awake," she said as she placed a kiss on his forehead. She gave his hand a squeeze and told him that she'd be right outside the door if he needed her and turned to walk out.   
  
"Thank you," she said to the nurse, adding, "I'll be here all night, so please come get me if he calls for me?" The nurse nodded and said, "I'll note it in the chart for the ICU nurses," she said, saying goodnight to Faith as she left.  
  
Faith went back out to the waiting room to let everyone know that he was okay and they could go home. "Thanks for coming over guys. I'll make sure Bosco knows you were here. It'll mean a lot to him," she said as they all said their goodnights and the 'call me if you need me's.'  
  
Everyone left, except for Sully who turned to Faith. "Do you need a lift home?" he asked her. "No, I'm good. I'm gonna stay here for a while more. You know, in case he wakes up. I don't want him to be alone," she said quietly.  
  
Sully gave her a knowing look and a hug around the shoulders. "Stop beating yourself up, Faith. You did everything right and got him here as soon as you sensed anything was wrong. He's strong. He's gonna be fine," he said firmly.  
  
"Thanks, Sul," she said as he headed for the doorway. He turned to her and said, "So, does he know how much you care for him?"  
  
"I don't know," she smiled wearily. "But I'm gonna make sure he knows as soon as he wakes up."  
  
Sully nodded and walked out of the room to go home.  
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Well, here's another chapter for you. Hope you are still enjoying it. 


	6. Chapter 6

Reflections - Chapter 6 - CONCLUSION  
  
Bosco was standing at the edge of a large room, dimly lit, with small trees decorated with white lights. There were tables, with long tablecloths that reached the ground and candles in the center of the tables scattered around a wooden dance floor. Music played softly. He could see a couple on the dance floor. They were dressed formally, she in a long black gown with a plunging back that showed off a perfect back, hair upswept with dangling pearl earrings to match her pearl necklace. The man was dressed in a tuxedo. He couldn't see the woman's face. He felt himself become the man in the tuxedo and could now feel the woman in his embrace. She seemed a perfect fit. He was trying to see who the woman was. There was something familiar about her scent. He felt relaxed and happy. He hadn't felt this way for a long time. The music ended and the two were about to part. He was just about to look his companion in the face....  
  
Bosco could feel someone touching his arm. He ached everywhere and he was cold. Finally he stirred and was able to open his eyes. He looked around and saw that there was a nurse alongside him. "What's going on?" he thought to himself. Then he remembered someone telling him that he was in the hospital. Something about surgery. It was Faith, he now recalled. "But, why?" he said trying so hard to remember and reaching up to try to remove the oxygen tubing from his nose.  
  
The nurse noticed that he was awake and said, "Mr. Boscorelli, my name is Andrea. You're in Mercy Hospital, in the ICU. You had surgery for a ruptured appendix so you are going to have some discomfort. You have an incision on your abdomen so please don't try to move around. The best thing you can do is lie still and let your body heal. Do you understand?" Bosco nodded his head slightly. "Is there anything I can get for you?" she asked, adjusting his blankets and removing the oxygen tubing.   
  
"Faith?" he whispered, his throat sore from the breathing tube and anesthesia during his surgery. "Yes, your partner is just outside. Would you like me to get her for you?" she asked. Bosco just nodded and said, "Cold." The nurse noticed he was shivering slightly.  
  
"You've developed a fever that we have to keep an eye on," she said as she took another blanket and placed it over him and left to get Faith. Bosco thought back, running the night through in his mind, trying to remember all that Faith had told him.  
  
Faith was curled up on one of the couches in the waiting room with her jacket over her. She felt someone gently shake her and looked up to see the nurse standing over her. She glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed that it was 4:00 a.m. It had now been 24 hours since she received the phone call from Nick at the bar. It seemed like it had been a week ago.  
  
"Officer Yokas, your partner is awake and asking for you. But, please don't be too long. He's still pretty weak and his temperature is spiking so I'm going to put a call in for the doctor on call to take a look at him," Andrea said, leading Faith to Bosco's room.  
  
Faith walked into his room and up to the bed, looking around at the monitors keeping track of his temperature, oxygen level, blood pressure and heart rate. He appeared to be asleep again and she whispered, "Bosco? Are you awake?"  
  
Bosco slowly opened his eyes and looked at Faith. "Hey," he said hoarsely, trying to smile. "Hey yourself. How do you feel?" Faith said, relieved to hear his voice.  
  
"Not good," he replied, grimacing at the soreness of his throat. Faith reached over to the stand alongside his bed and poured some of the water from the pitcher onto a washcloth and wet his lips. He licked his lips and said, "Thanks. So what happened?"  
  
"You don't remember? I talked to you down in the ER before they brought you to surgery," she said, dabbing at his lips again with the water.   
  
"I remember feeling like shit at home, and you being there, and then something about my appendix and needing surgery, but that's pretty much it," he said. "Well, you apparently developed appendicitis during the time you were trashed," she said, giving him a motherly look. "I thought it was just from the alcohol until you grabbed your side and passed out again. You were burning up so Doc and Kim brought you here. Your appendix ruptured and you had to have surgery to clean everything out. You need to stay here for a while to make sure you don't get an infection from it," she finished.  
  
"So, everything went okay, right?" he asked. "Yeah," she answered, wondering if he remembered her telling him that she loved him. "Do you remember me telling you anything else?" she asked tentatively.  
  
Bosco looked over at her, his features softening. "Yeah, Faith, I think I do," he said. "But, I'm not sure if I was dreaming or what," he added, looking at her worried face.  
  
Just then, the nurse came in with the doctor and said, "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to step out. The doctor wants to check his incision and see about that fever."  
  
"Oh, okay," said Faith, looking at Bosco and not wanting to leave him. She paused for a moment and then reached down to take his hand and when he looked back at her, she quietly repeated, "I said 'I love you.'" She thought to herself, "There, I said it. Now it's out there," and she breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Bosco squeezed her hand and smiled, relieved that he hadn't dreamed it and said back to her, "Me too." Faith immediately broke into a big smile and leaned over to kiss him and she felt him kiss her back. The nurse shifted uneasily on her feet and the doctor cleared his throat and they were brought back to the moment.  
  
"Oh, uh, sorry. Bos, I'll be just outside," she said turning to leave with a smile on her face. She stopped at the door and turned to look back at him, and held his gaze for a moment before she left the room.  
  
She was waiting outside his room, with a smile she couldn't get rid of, when she heard someone speak her name. She looked up to see Angela Boscorelli standing there looking at her with a strange look. She suddenly realized that Angela must have asked her a question and was waiting for an answer. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" Faith said.  
  
"I said, 'How's Maurice?' I've been waiting for you to call me. I closed up the bar for the night and I wanted to check before I went home to sleep," she repeated.  
  
"Oh, he just woke up. I was just gonna call you. The doctor is in with him right now because his temperature is up," she informed her.  
  
"Oh, well I'll wait for a few minutes, but I'm really beat," Angela said. "Yeah, well, I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you'd wait to see him," Faith replied, disgusted at her lack of concern. Finally, she couldn't hold her tongue anymore and said, "You do realize that he could very easily have died from this, right Angela? He's still pretty sick because of the infection."  
  
Angela looked surprised and said, "What? Why didn't you tell me that when you talked to me earlier?"  
  
"I did, but apparently you were too busy being 'put-out' by the interruption of your son possibly needing you," she stated matter-of-factly.  
  
Angela gave Faith an icy stare and then went to sit down until the doctor came out. About 10 minutes later, the doctor came out looking for Faith.  
  
"Doctor, how is he?" Faith asked as Angela quickly stood up, now ready to assert herself as Bosco's only relative. She elbowed her way between Faith and the doctor and introduced herself, "Hello Doctor. My name is Angela Boscorelli, Maurice's mother."  
  
Faith took a step back, rolling her eyes as the doctor looked at her. "Well, Mrs. Boscorelli..."  
  
"Ms.," she interrupted him.  
  
"Ms. Boscorelli," the doctor corrected himself. "As you know, your son suffered a rupture of his appendix yesterday and underwent surgery to clean out any infection that we could find and remove the remaining damaged organ," he explained as Angela nodded her understanding.  
  
"Right now, he is spiking a pretty high fever, about 103 degrees. Now, we're giving him very strong antibiotics through his intravenous line and this should take care of it, barring any complications," he finished, looking at Faith to make sure that she also understood the information.  
  
"What kind of complications, Doctor," Faith asked. "Well, there are the normal risks from any surgery, no matter how routine. But, we have to worry about keeping the fever down and preventing the infection from spreading systemically and doing damage to other organs, etc.," he explained.  
  
"Oh my poor baby," said Angela. "Can I go see him, please, Doctor?"  
  
"Well, he's still very weak and tired, but for a moment you can, just to let him know you're here," the doctor replied.  
  
"Thanks, Doctor," said Faith, shaking the doctor's hand. "I'll show her which room and make sure she doesn't stay too long."  
  
The doctor nodded and left the two women in the hallway. "Well," said Faith. "Bosco's room is down here," she said, gesturing down the hall and starting down toward his room.  
  
Faith stopped at the door and let Angela go in by herself - although she stayed close to the door so she could make sure that she wasn't upsetting him.  
  
Angela tentatively walked up to the bed and looked at her son, who appeared to be sleeping, "Maurice," she said. "It's Mom," she said gently, taking her son's hand in her own. The nurse was in the room, putting some medicine into the IV tubing. Bosco stirred and opened his eyes, expecting to see Faith. He was surprised to see his Mother standing there with a look of concern on her face. She had tears in her eyes. "Ma, it's okay. I'm okay," he assured her.  
  
"Oh, Maurice. I didn't know when Faith called me that you were this sick. I thought it was just another one of your police work injuries. I would have come over sooner," she said as she touched his cheek.  
  
"It's okay Ma. I guess I was pretty much out of it anyway. Thanks for coming," he said, trying to keep his eyes open. The pain medicine the nurse had given him was too strong and he was losing the fight to stay awake. His eyes drifted shut and the grip on his mother's hand loosened. Angela leaned over to give her son a kiss and walked out of the room.  
  
Faith was standing just outside the door and heard the whole conversation. "Maybe I was a little hard on her," she thought to herself. "I'll have to make sure I apologize."  
  
Angela came out of the room and saw Faith. "He fell asleep again," Angela told her, still standing in the doorway and looking back at her son. Faith nodded. "Look, Angela, I'm sorry I snapped at you before. I'm just tired and worried," she explained.  
  
"No Faith, it's okay. You were right. I should have come right over. It's just that Maurice and I don't always see eye-to-eye on things and I wasn't sure that he'd want me here. I haven't really been there for him a lot when he was younger and I think he doesn't trust me to be there for him. It's something I need to work on with him," she said sadly.   
  
"The nurse said that she gave him some medicine to help him sleep for a pretty long stretch. I'm gonna go home and try to get some sleep. But, I'll be back early," she said. "Why don't you go home and get some rest too, Faith. He's gonna need you when he wakes up. He trusts you," Angela said, almost jealous of the closeness between her son and Faith.  
  
Faith nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm just gonna hang around for a little while more. Kim and Alex are gonna stop over before they go to work so that he isn't by himself. He doesn't like that," she said looking in at Bosco, sleeping peacefully. The nurse had finished getting him his medications and straightening his IV tube and monitor wires. She was reaching up to the light and Angela and Faith said, in unison, "Please, leave that light on for him. He doesn't like the dark."  
  
The two women looked at each other and smiled. Angela moved closer to Faith and gave her a hug. "He loves you Faith. I hope you know that. He doesn't say it, but I see it in his eyes, the way he looks at you, the way he talks about you."  
  
"I know, Angela," Faith said with a smile. "And I love him too."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The End. Sequel? 


	7. Chapter 7

Reflections - Chapter 7  
  
It was hard to believe that it had only been a day since the beginning of Bosco's illness. Faith was reluctant to go back to work this afternoon. Kim and Alex had come to the hospital as they promised to relieve her after their shift at 8:00 this morning so she could get some rest before working her shift. She wasn't sure how she had gotten home. She climbed the stairs to her apartment and put the key in the door. She stumbled to the bedroom, set her alarm, and didn't even remember her head hitting the pillow as she fell into bed. She slept but only saw Bosco in her dreams.  
  
She had sat in Bosco's room watching over him as he slept after Angela left. He was very restless and kept moving about because of his fever and discomfort. The nurses assured her before she left that they would call her at home with any change in his condition. Alex and Kim assured her that they would call her if anything changed.  
  
Faith had set her alarm for noon so that she would have time to shower, pick up a few things that Bosco might want from his place and see him before she had to go to work. She didn't want to use up her time at work while he was in the hospital. She would take a few days off when he was released so that he would have someone there to care for him.  
  
Faith arrived back at the hospital at about 2:00 p.m. and immediately noticed that there was an influx of nurses and doctors in and out of his room. Kim and Alex told her they had tried to call, but that she must have been on her way over here. Faith cursed herself for leaving her cell phone on the kitchen table. She was just in a hurry to get back.  
  
Finally, she stopped one of the doctors to ask him what was going on. "Well, Officer Yokas," he began only to be interrupted by Faith. "Please, just call me Faith," she said, nervously smiling at the doctor.  
  
The doctor smiled, "Okay, Faith. His temperature hasn't gone down with the high-dose antibiotics we've been giving him through his IV. In fact, it's up to about 105 degrees. That's why the nurses put the cooling blanket on him. We've taken blood cultures and they're in the lab now. We should have those results in just a little while, but I suspect that the infection has worked its way into his system. We have upped the dose of the antibiotics and we are trying to cool him with the cooling blanket."  
  
"Doc, is he gonna be okay? Should I call his mother?" Faith asked, fear rising in her voice. The doctor put a hand on Faith's arm and said, "Faith, there's no reason to believe that he won't be able to pull through this. He's young and he's a fighter. We expected that something like this might happen because of the length of time the rupture went undetected and we're taking the necessary steps to counter-act it." Faith again felt the pang of guilt at not realizing he was in trouble sooner. Kim put a hand on Faith's arm, knowing what she was thinking  
  
Faith nodded, "Is he awake? Can I go see him?"  
  
"He's awake, but he's somewhat delirious due to the fever. We've just given him a sedative to try to keep him quiet, but you should be able to see him before he's asleep again. I don't know if he'll recognize you or not. I know it's hard to see him like this, but we're doing everything we can for him," he said before turning and walking toward the nurse's station to write up some orders.  
  
Faith left Kim and Alex in the hallway. "Boy, she's really messed up over this," Alex said to Kim. Kim looked at Alex and said, "That's because she loves him, Alex." Alex looked at Kim with a surprised look on her face. "Oh c'mon, I can't believe you never saw it before," Kim said. "It's so obvious."  
  
Faith walked over to Bosco. He was thrashing about, a layer of sweat covering him. A nurse was trying to take his vital signs, but it was difficult because he was moving around so much. He was mumbling something Faith couldn't quite make out. She moved closer and held his hand and leaned down next to his ear.  
  
"Bosco, it's Faith. Can you hear me?" she said soothingly. "I know you don't feel good right now, but you have to fight through this. The doctors are giving you everything you need to fight off this infection, but you have to be strong right now. In order to do that you have to give in to the medicine they're giving you to make your body rest so it can heal," she continued, stroking the side of his face and smoothing his hair.   
  
"Faith?" she heard Bosco say quietly, with a furrowed brow. "Sshhh. Yes Bos, it's me," she answered, kissing the side of his face.  
  
"Faith!" he yelled, making her and the nurse jump. "Faith, look out! There's another one behind that door!" he yelled, trying to push her away. Faith now realized that it was the fever talking. He was seeing the guy from the abandoned apartment building last week. She had been busy cuffing one suspect when Bosco caught up to her and saw another one coming from behind a door with some kind of weapon in his hand. He had knocked her out of the way and took the blow from the crowbar across his back, although his vest absorbed most of the impact. Faith had been able to grab the guy from behind and throw him to the ground.  
  
"Bosco, it's okay," Faith soothed. "We're all safe. You're in the hospital. Please try to relax," she continued stroking his hair. She reached over to wet a washcloth with cool water and place it on his forehead. He seemed to calm down a little, feeling her touch.   
  
He suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Faith. It didn't appear that he saw her; he just seemed to look right through her. Suddenly, Faith felt him start to shake and the nurse pressed the call button to summon the doctor back into the room. "You're going to have to step out right now," the nurse told Faith curtly. Faith tried to step back, but couldn't remove her hand from Bosco's grasp. He was having a seizure, probably from the high fever, and all his muscles were contracting, making his grip on her hand even tighter. The doctor came in the room and started ordering medications to be administered. Faith was finally able to remove her hand from Bosco's grasp and stood back, horrified. Alex followed the doctor into the room, put her arm around Faith's shoulders and walked her back into the hallway.  
  
With the medications, the seizure was stopped and Bosco was again peacefully sleeping. The nurse and doctor were checking his vital signs and making sure that his IV lines were still working. The doctor came out to Faith, seeing the look of terror on her face, the tears on her cheeks. "Faith, he had a seizure because of the high fever. That's his body fighting against the infection. He's sleeping now, the medication we gave him knocked him out." Faith nodded and the doctor walked away toward another patient's room. Kim and Alex told Faith that they had to leave to get to work. Faith thanked them for staying and they told her they would check back with her soon.   
  
Faith stepped up to Bosco's bed and looked down at him. She was afraid to touch him. He was still covered in sweat and she again wet the washcloth and wiped the sweat from his face, neck, arms and chest, careful not to disturb the pads that were monitoring his heart. The nurse watched as Faith lovingly washed the sweat from Bosco and knew that this was more than a mere partnership. She said, "I'll go get some clean towels for you." Faith looked up at the nurse and said, "Thanks."  
  
The nurse left to get the towels and Faith leaned over and awkwardly hugged Bosco, trying to get as close as possible to him yet not disturb any of the tubes or wires. "Bosco, please be okay," she said in his ear, tears openly flowing now. "We just found our way to each other, please don't leave me now." She felt Bosco turn his head slightly into her neck and knew that he had heard her. The nurse returned with the towels and Faith finished cleaning him up and straightened his covers.   
  
"He feels cooler," she said to the nurse. She nodded and said, "I think his body is fighting it off finally." The nurse nodded toward the door and said, "There's someone here to see you." Faith breathed a sigh of relief and heard someone behind her in the doorway. She turned to see Sully standing there. "How long had he been there?" she thought to herself, wondering if he had heard her words to Bosco a moment before, but then not really caring if he did.  
  
"Hey Sul," Faith said walking over to him. "Hey Faith. I just brought Ty in for some stitches and a tetanus shot and thought I'd stop up and see how he was doing," he said, looking over at Bosco and handing Faith the cup of coffee he had brought upstairs for her. Faith suddenly realized that she should have been to work an hour ago, but with Bosco being so sick she totally forgot. Sully must have seen the look on her face and said, "It's okay. The Lieutenant called over to check on Bosco's condition and was told what was going on and that you were here with him. He just put you down for a personal day," Sully reassured her. "Thanks, Sully," she said. Then realizing what Sully had said about Ty, she asked, "So, what happened to Davis? He gonna be okay?"  
  
"Oh, he was chasing some psycho behind some houses and snagged his arm on an old, rusty piece of fence. Just a couple of stitches, nothing serious. I think he's more worried about the needle," he said, again looking over at his friend. "So, how's he doing?"  
  
"He had a scary couple of hours. The infection got into his system and his fever got pretty high. He had a seizure, but the doctors think that's the worst of it," she said, looking over her shoulder at him. "And you? How are you doing, Faith," Sully asked, remembering what he had heard her saying to him as he walked into the room.  
  
"Ah, I'm okay," she said, shrugging off her anxiety. She wasn't sure what Bosco wanted to do about letting people know how they felt about each other. "Good," Sully said. "Well, I guess I'll get back downstairs to Junior before he bolts out the door at the site of Proctor with that needle," he said lightly. "Take care, Faith, and keep us posted," he said. She nodded, "Thanks, Sul."   
  
Sully turned to leave and when he got to the door turned back toward Faith, "I'm glad Faith. It's about time. And, don't worry. I'm not saying anything to anyone. That's up to you two to figure out." With that he turned and left the room. Faith stood there and smiled.  
  
She looked over to make sure that Bosco was okay and then stepped into the bathroom to splash some water on her face. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and said, "Oh my God, you look like you got run over by a truck."  
  
She heard his tired voice from outside the bathroom, "Yeah, well let's see how you look after you go through this." She smiled and ran out of the bathroom to see Bosco, awake with a tired smile on his face. She walked slowly over to him, tears again filling her eyes. But this time they were happy tears, tears of relief. She reached over and took his hand, feeling him grip her back and pull her toward him. She bent down and gently kissed his forehead. "Get some sleep, Bos. You've earned it," she said, but he had already fallen asleep again.  
  
Faith pulled the chair over to the bed and fell asleep holding his hand, with her head resting on his chest.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC 


End file.
